Lance, great shots as usual. What do you think about the AF on Z7? Reading all the reviews, I wasn't too much interested in one. If the AF is good for occasional shots, I will look into it mainly for family shots..
Hello happy owners!
I cannot quote here per Fred's rules until not putting in 25 or so posts in this thread.
Anyway, I just got my email that the next distribution shipment for the N500PF will be around November 15.
I guess this inspired the above blogpost.
Sad. I preordered in24 hrs of the B&H announcement of the lens.
🤔😣
Jemini wrote:
Awesome. This is the best example I've seen with TC wide open. Thanks for sharing
Thanks. This lens is opening a new world for me. I can't hand hold the other super primes and carrying around that much wieght would have precluded me doing much wildlife shooting. This lens gives me many more possibilites than I had before.
Jemini wrote:
Lance, great shots as usual. What do you think about the AF on Z7? Reading all the reviews, I wasn't too much interested in one. If the AF is good for occasional shots, I will look into it mainly for family shots..
Thank you very much, Jemini. Much appreciated.
For general day to day photography the AF is excellent, but just do not expect D850 performance especially in very low light with slow lenses like the 500 f5.6 PF. The D850 has really spoiled us with it's ridiculously good AF. To be honest, the Z7 it is way better than I was expecting, especially with F mount lenses as I was expecting a real issue with F mount lenses. Using the 70-200 f2.8E FL VR in even lowish light it was fast and accurate but again. not D850 fast. The 500 f5.6 PF in lowish light is still very good, just not in very low light. It struggled a bit with the 500 f5.6 PF when using other than centre focus point.
For everyday shooting, landscapes, general street, family, perched birds, slow moving subject matter etc, the Z7 will be perfect. I have had no issues with the Z7 for general photography, it is as good as any DSLR except the obviously the D3/4/5 and the D850 D500 etc. Probably as good as a D810, especially with fast and pro spec lenses. It's only when your subject matter speed up that you start to have a few issues but even then it can surprise you and do well. It's just a different system than the D850 and you need to allow for that. However, I am still experimenting on the best AF set up and we may all get better at AF results from the Z7 once we know how the AF of a mirrorless can be best implemented to get the best out of it.
The Z7 struggled a little with the 500 PF in this low light shot when not using the centre focus point.
OwlsEyes wrote:
Crazy good detail in these Lance... it looks as if you are as pleased with your 500PF as I am with mine.
How responsive and accurate has the Z7's AF been with the 500PF? I have chosen not to buy the D850 and am considering either the Z7 or upcoming Z6.
great stuff,
bruce
Thank you very much, Bruce. Much appreciated!
Yes, the 500 PF is a little gem of a lens. However, on the Z7 the 500 PF is a little slower and in low light can be a bit of an issue especially with the non centre AF point. Accuracy doesn't seem a problem, just acquisition speed. In good light it is pretty good, but not near the D850 (which is just silly good), but I never expected it to be as good or near as good to the D850. These photos were just an experiment to see how well it worked and on these relatively slow moving birds it was fine. Can I get away with using my Z7 for some birding use - ie slow moving and perched birds in reasonable light - the answer is yes but you still need good technique and patience. In this instance, I was shooting at 1/100sec in order to keep ISO low and they turned out sharp.
Lance B wrote:
Thank you very much, Bruce. Much appreciated!
Yes, the 500 PF is a little gem of a lens. However, on the Z7 the 500 PF is a little slower and in low light can be a bit of an issue especially with the non centre AF point. Accuracy doesn't seem a problem, just acquisition speed. In good light it is pretty good, but not near the D850 (which is just silly good), but I never expected it to be as good or near as good to the D850. These photos were just an experiment to see how well it worked and on these relatively slow moving birds it was fine. Can I get away with using my Z7 for some birding use - ie slow moving and perched birds in reasonable light - the answer is yes but you still need good technique and patience. In this instance, I was shooting at 1/100sec in order to keep ISO low and they turned out sharp. ...Show more →
Well said Lance...my limited experience with the Z7 indeed suggests AF does not do well with slower glass/lower light if the subject is moving at all -- exactly the opposite of what we birders often are facing. As much as I'm loving my Z7, at least for birding my D850 isn't going anywhere.
I'm looking forward to hearing more about your experiences with the 500PF. I'm on the list for one here in Canada but I really don't think it's going solve any particular problem I have so I'm not that serious about it.
Thank you for the detailed reply Lance. This helps a lot. My main camera for birds is D500. I also have a DF for indoor/family shots. DF's AF is not that great for indoor stuff. Bought it for the sensor. I want to see if Z7 is any better here as it's high MP will compensate for the super sensor. It seems Z series are not going to be the indoor AF champs
Thanks again
Lance B wrote:
Thank you very much, Jemini. Much appreciated.
For general day to day photography the AF is excellent, but just do not expect D850 performance especially in very low light with slow lenses like the 500 f5.6 PF. The D850 has really spoiled us with it's ridiculously good AF. To be honest, the Z7 it is way better than I was expecting, especially with F mount lenses as I was expecting a real issue with F mount lenses. Using the 70-200 f2.8E FL VR in even lowish light it was fast and accurate but again. not D850 fast. The 500 f5.6 PF in lowish light is still very good, just not in very low light. It struggled a bit with the 500 f5.6 PF when using other than centre focus point.
For everyday shooting, landscapes, general street, family, perched birds, slow moving subject matter etc, the Z7 will be perfect. I have had no issues with the Z7 for general photography, it is as good as any DSLR except the obviously the D3/4/5 and the D850 D500 etc. Probably as good as a D810, especially with fast and pro spec lenses. It's only when your subject matter speed up that you start to have a few issues but even then it can surprise you and do well. It's just a different system than the D850 and you need to allow for that. However, I am still experimenting on the best AF set up and we may all get better at AF results from the Z7 once we know how the AF of a mirrorless can be best implemented to get the best out of it.
The Z7 struggled a little with the 500 PF in this low light shot when not using the centre focus point.
